Chap. I. • and wintering in Charlton liland. 42,1 
and then it crumples, and To runs upon itfelf, that in a 
few Hours it wili be five or fix Feet thick. The half 
Tide ftiil flowing, carries it quite away, that by December 
it is grown to an infinite Multiplication of Ice. And 
thus, by this floring of it up, the Cold gets the Predo- 
minancy in the Sea, which alfo furnifhes the Springs and 
Water in the low fiat Lands, that it cools it like itfelf. 
This may appear by our Experience ; though in all this 
I freely fubmit myfelf to the more Learned. 
Our Men found it more mortifying cold to wade 
through the Water in the Beginning of June^ when the 
Sea was full of Ice, than in December^ when it was in- 
creafing •, our Well, out of which we had Water in De- 
cember dried up in July \ the Ground, at ten Feet deep, 
was frozen. The Quantity of Ice may very eafily be 
made to appear by mathematical Demonftration ; and yet 
I am not of the Opinion that the Bay freezes all over. For 
the 2 1 ft the Wind blowing a Storm at North, we could 
perceive the Ice to rife fomething in the Bay. 
24. February 163 2. The Cold was as extreme this Month 
as at any Time we had felt it this Year, and many of 
our Men complained of Infirmities ; fome of fore Mouths, 
all the Teeth in their Heads being loofe ; their Gums 
fwoln with black rotten Flefh, which every Day was to 
be cut away •, the Pain was fo great, that they could not 
eat their ordinary Meat; others complained of Pains in 
their Heads and their Breafts •, fome of Weaknefs in 
their Backs ; others of Aches in their Thighs and Knees •, 
and others of Sv/ellings in their Legs. Thus were two 
thirds, of the Company under the Chirurgeon’s Hands ; 
and yet, never thelefs, they were forced to wmrk daily, 
and go abroad to fetch AYood and Timber, notwith- 
ftanding moft of them had no Shoes to put on. 'Their 
Shoes, upon their coming to the Fire out of the Snow, 
were burnt and fcorched upon their Feet, and our Store- 
ftioes were all funk in the Ship. In this Neceflity they 
made this.fliift to bind Clouts about their Feet, and en- 
deavoured, by that poor Flelp, the beft they could, to 
perform their Duties. Our Carpenter likewife by this 
time fell fick, to our great Difcomfort. 
I pra(ftifed fome Obfervations by the rifling and fettiilg 
of the Sun ; calculating the Time of his rifling and fetting, 
by very true running Glafles. As for our Clock and 
Watch, notwithftanding we ftill kept them by the Fire- 
fide in a Cheft, wrapped in Cloths, yet were they fo frozen, 
that they could not go. My Obfervations by thefe 
Glaffes, I compared with the Stars coming to the Meri- 
dian. By this means rve found the Sun to rife twenty 
Minutes before it fhould ; and in the Evening to remain 
tv/enty Minutes, or thereabouts, longer than it fhould ; 
all this by Reafon of the Refraflion. Since now I have 
fpoken fo much of the Cold, I hope it ■will not be taken 
ill, if I, in a few Words, make it fome Way appear to 
our Readers. 
We made three Differences of the Cold, all according 
to the Places. In our Koufe, in the Woods, and in the 
open Air, in our going to the Ship. For the laft, it 
would be fometimes fo extreme, that it was almoft unin- 
durable ; no Cloaths ’were Proof againft it-, no Motion 
could refift it it would fo freeze the Hair on the Eye- 
lids, that we could not fee ; and I verily believe that it 
would have ftifled a Man in a very’ few Hours. We daily 
found, by Experience, that the Cold in the Woods would 
freeze our Faces, or any Part of bur Flefli that -was bare, 
but, it was not fo mortifying as the other. Our Houfe, 
on the outfide, was covered two third Parts with Snow, 
and, on the infide, frozen and hung with Ificles. The 
Cloaths on our Beds would be covered with Hoar-Froft, 
which in this Iflabitation was not far from the Fire. The 
Cook’s Tubs, wherein he watered his Meat, ftanding 
about a Yard from the Fire, and which he all Day plied 
with Snow Water; yet in the Night Seafon, whilft he 
fleeped but on W’^atch, they ■would be firm frozen to the 
very Bottom. And therefore he was forced to water his 
Meat in a Brafs Kettle, clofe adjoining to the Fire. And 
I have many times both feen and felt, by putting my 
H-md into it, that Side which was next the Fire very 
Warm, and the other Side an Inch frozen. 
The Chirurgeon, who had hung his Bottles of Sirnips, 
VoL. II. Numb. XCVIIL 
and other liquid things, as conveniently as he could, to 
preferve tliem, had them all frozen. Our Vinegar, Oil, 
and Sack, which w^c had in fmall Cafies in the Houfe, 
were all firm frozen. It may further, in general, be con- 
ceived, that in the Beginning of June the Sea was not 
broken up, and the Ground was yet frozLii ; and this we 
found by Experience, - in the burying of our Men, in fet- 
ting up the King’s Standard, towards the latter End of 
June^ and by our Well ; in coming away in the Begin- 
ning of July^ at -vTich Time, upon the Land,; for fome 
other Reafons, it was very hot W eather. 
25. March 1632. The firft of this Month, being St. 
DaviF^ Day, we kept Holiday, and folemnifed it in the 
Manner of the ancient Britons ; praying for the Happi- 
nefs of his Royal Highnefs, Charles^ Prince of JValcs^ aitcr- 
wards Charles II. The 1 5th one of our Men thought he 
had feen a Deer, v/hereupon he, with two or three morCj 
. defired that they might go to fee if they could take it. 
I gave them leave, but they returned in the Evening fo 
difabled with Cold, v/hich rofe up in Blifters under the 
Soles of their Feet, and upon their Legs, to the bignefs 
of Walnuts, that they could not recover, their former 
State, w'hich was not very well, in a Fortnight after. 
The 26th three others alfo defired to go out to try their 
Fortunes, but they returned worfe difabled, and even al- 
moft ftifled \Vith the Cold. This Evening the Moon rofe in 
a very long Oval along the Horizon. By the laft of this 
Month the Carpenter had fet up feventeen Ground Tim- 
bers, and thirty four Staddles, and, poor Man, hs pro- 
ceeded the beft he could, though forced to be led to his 
Labour. In fliort, all this Month it was very cold, the 
Wind about the North- weft, the Snow as deep as it was 
all this Winter. But to anfwer an Objeftion that mj’ghc 
be made ; you were in a Wood (fome Men may fay unto 
us) and therefore you might make Fire enough to keep 
you from the Cold. It is true, we were m a riood^ 
and under a South Bank too, or otherwdfe we had 
ftarved. 
But I muft tell you withal, how difficult it was to have 
Wood in a Wood. And firft. I will make a Mufter of 
the Tools we had. The Carpenter, in his Cheft, had two 
Axes indeed, but one of them was fpoiled in cutting down 
Wood to pile about our Houfe belore Chriftmas. W hen we 
firft landed we had but two whole 1 'atchets : which, in 
a tew Days, broke two Inches below the SocHts; I cal- 
led tor three of the Cooper’s Hatchets. The Carpenter’s 
Ax, and the Cooper’s beft Hatchet I caufed to be 
locked up ; the other two Hatchets to be new helved ; 
and the Blades of the two broken Hatchets to H put into 
a cleft Piece of Wood, and then to be bound about with 
Rope Yarn, as faft as might be, which was to be repair- 
ed every Day ; and thefe vrere all the -cutting Tools we 
had. Befides, the 6th of February the Carpenter had 
cut his beft Ax about fomethh'jg, and one of the Com- 
pany, ill his A.bfence, by his indifereet handling of it, 
broke that too two ' Inches below the Socket ; v/e were 
henceforward forced to ufe thefe Pieces of Tools the beft 
we could. Wherefore I gave Orders that the Carpenter 
fhould have one of the Cooper’s Flatehets, they that 
looked for Timber in the Woods to have, the other ; and 
they that cut down Wood to burn, were to have the two 
Pieces ; and this 'was before Chrifcinas. 
The three that were appointed to look crocked Timber, 
ftalked and waded fometimes on all fours through the Srow, 
and where they flaw a Tree likely to fit' tlie IVlould, they 
heaved awav the Snow, and then Jaw it it would fit the 
Mould, and then they muft make a Fire to it to thaw 
it, otherwdfe it could not be cut ; then they cut it down and 
fit it to the Mould, and then with other Flelp get k 
home, a Mile through the Snow. Now, for our firing 
we could not burn green Wood, it would fmoke fo in- 
tolerably ; nay, the Men- would rather ftarve without in 
the Cold than fit by it ; as for the dry Woo^V 
was bad enough, for it was full of Turpentine, and would 
fend forth fuch a thick Smoak that would make abun- 
dance of Soot, which would make us all look as if we 
had been free of the Company of Chimney-Sweepers. 
Our Cloaths were quite burnt to Pieces about us, and, 
for the moft -part, we- were without Shoes. * But to 
5 P our 
